How to Reply to Messages from iPhone Lock Screen
Reading Time: 3 minutes Sometimes all you need to do when you receive a message is give a quick reply. The ability to reply from the Lock Screen makes it possible to send off a reply without taking the time to unlock your iPhone, find your messaging app, select the message and then reply. You can reply to messages from the Lock Screen on both iPhone and iPad. You can reply to messages using Messages, WhatsApp, Slack and more.
Although you will probably reply from the Lock Screen most often when you receive a new message, you may still want to reply to a message that’s notification has already disappeared from the Lock Screen. In order to view your notifications in the Notification Center, swipe up from the center of the Lock Screen. If necessary, tap on a stack of messages to open all of the notifications that have come in using a particular app.
How to reply from the Lock Screen
When you receive a notification on your Lock Screen, you can reply to it by doing the following:
- Touch and hold on the notification until a text box and keyboard appear.
- Type your message in the text box.
- Tap on the Send (or arrow) button.
Other Lock Screen message options
Swipe left on a message on the Lock Screen to bring up an Options and a Clear button. The Clear button, as you might expect, will clear the message from the Lock Screen. If you tap on the Options button, you will see the following options in the menu that appears:
- Mute for 1 Hour: This will mute notifications from the app for one hour. Your notifications can still be found in the Notifications Center.
- Mute for Today: This will mute notifications from the app for the rest of the day; they will still appear in the Notification Center.
- View Settings: There are many different notification settings you can change for each app. You can also access the settings by going to Settings > Notifications.
- Turn Off All “Messages” Notifications: This will turn off notifications for the “Messages” app.
If you have muted notifications and wish to turn them back on again, you can find a notification in the Notification Center and swipe left on it, tap on Options, then tap Unmute.
If you can’t reply from the Lock Screen
If you can’t reply to a message from the Lock Screen, you may need to check your settings. You will need to allow Reply with Message.
iPhone or iPad with Face ID
- Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode.
- Enter your Passcode.
- Scroll down to the Allow Access when Locked section.
- Toggle the switch next to Reply with Message.
iPhone SE (2nd gen), iPhone 8 or earlier, or iPad
- Go to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode.
- Enter your Passcode.
- Go to Allow Access when Locked and toggle on Reply with Message.
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